Will suboxone give a false positive for opiates on a urine drug screen test?
Question posted by shoca8 on 20 July 2010
Last updated on 15 October 2013 by jcain9
Answers
YES! Suboxone is comprised of two different drugs, buprenorphine and naloxone. Oxycodone tests look for a metabolite called Noroxymorphone. The problem is, one of the metabolites of Naloxone is Noroxymorphone as well. This is a little studied fact that users of Suboxone CAN show positive for Oxycodone as well. It appears that Noroxymorphone can be detected in the body after taking Naloxone for between 2-5 hours after absorption. Suboxone is taken sublingually, under the tongue, and Naloxone is poorly absorbed sublingually. The problem is that many Suboxone users are swallowing the mouth full of liquid (Suboxone, saliva) after the buprenorphine is absorbed. Since the Naloxone is not well absorbed under the tongue, it is absorbed after swallowing!! A friend of mine just tested positive for the Oxycodone metabolite Noroxymorphone and he has been taking only Suboxone. A solution to this problem may be to raise the cutoff level for Noroxymorphone in Oxycodone tests.
It should not, it only shows as buprenorphine. I have had the quickie tests and the mail off kind and it never showed as anything but buprenorphine. The reason is because it is a partial agonist and I don't fully understand that myself. If the test had a panel for buprenorphine, that is what it should have come up as. Drug tests can be very inaccurate and anyone who comes up positive for something they didn't take should ask to retest with a test from a totally different batch of tests, or offer a blood sample.
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Further information
- Suboxone uses and safety info
- Suboxone prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Suboxone (detailed)
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